A multidimensional approach to measuring the middle class

Abstract

Middle class studies have gained relevance in the economic literature. Nevertheless, a profound lack of agreement on conceptual and methodological issues for its identification remains. Furthermore, it has mostly relied on only one dimension: income. In this paper we present a new multidimensional approach for identifying the middle class based on multivariate quantiles. Moreover, this approach allows for a more general assessment of welfare given that it allows for identifying other groups -the poor and the upper class- overcoming existing strategies. We provide an empirical application for the case of Argentina in the 2004-2014 period.